Dispensing device



i Patented July 3l, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DISPEN SING DEVICE Carl E. Lebrecht, San Antonio, Tex.

Application November 28, 1942, Serial No. 467,228

1 Claim. (C1. 312-80) This invention relates to dispensing devices and has particular reference to apparatus for dispensing cards and pencils at the saine time.

By placing such a machine outside a display window at night, a customer may use the card and pencil for placing an order for articles he wishes to purchase. The purpose of the hereinafter described machine is to make the placing of such written orders convenient, and at the same time prevent pilfering of the cards and pencils. To this end the device is made coin operated, the value of the coin being refunded to the purchaser by the seller. An object of the invention is to provide, in a dispensing machine ofthis character, means for dispensing both a pencil and a card by one operation.

Another object is to provide means for agitating the pencils in the pencil container so as to prevent cloggingof the pencils before passing into the pencil release.

In the drawing, Figure 1 is a fragmentary front view of my invention showing the pencil container and accompanying pencil ejector partially in vertical section. Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken at a right angle with respect to Figure 1.

Continuing with a more detailed description of the drawing, the numeral I generally designates a box like container for housing the device. Bracketl assemblies 2 are attached to the container front 3 horizontally supporting a plate 4. A slidable ejector plate rests on the upper side of the supporting plate 4 and is secured against lateral motion by parallel longitudinal giudcs 8 xed on opposite sides of the supporting plate 4. The ejector plate 5 has an integral and depending actuating rod l near its center. A slot 8, parallel to the guides 6, is provided in the supporting plate 4 to accommodate the actuating rod l.

The coin operated plunger mechanism, generally designated by the numeral 9, may be of any of the numerous types known to the art, be it sufficient to operate the actuating rod 'l within the limits dened by the slot 8 in the supporting plate 4.

A rectangular card container I0 is attached to the upper sides of the guides 6 and is provided with a slot I I in the front end thereof. The lower portions of the sides of the container I0 extend toward the rear of the device as shown in Figure 2, and receive therebetweena removable back I2. The latter is frictionally engaged by the sides of the container I0 and is for the convenient replacement of the cards I3.

A step cut shoulder I4 the thickness of one card is formed in the front upper side of the ejector plate 5 for carrying one card at a time toward a horizontal opening slot I i in the front of the card container I0. Another slot i5, in the housing front 3, also accommodates the card as it is moved by the ejector plate 5.

A pencil container I6 is supported from the upper portion of the container I0 .by any convenient means such as the illustrated brackets I1. The lower front of the container I6 is provided with a stop chamber I8, as illustrated in Figure 2, and the back I9 of the pencil container is inclined and is hinged at its upper edge to the sides of the container I6. It is constructed so as to provide an opening 20 the width of a pencil at the bottom of the container I6.

On opposite lower sides of the pencil container I6 there are rigidly attached channel shaped guides 2l for slidably engaging the extending ends of a pencil release 22. The latter is designed to open and close the opening 20 of the container I6. The forward end has an elongated member 23 with a vertical slot 24 therethrough to accommodate the length of one pencil at a time. Immediately below the slot 24, but not extending to the bottom of the stop chamber I8, there is a baiie 25 attached to the lowermost sides of the pencil container IB as shown in Figure 2.

Rigidly connected to the pencil release 22, which is movable, there is an angular plate 26 extending horizontally lbeneath the pencil container I6 and is of such length that it will extend in the forward movement to cover the opening in the bottom of the stop chamber I8. Recoil springs 2l connect the release 22 with the container supporting brackets Il.

An operating arm 28 is secured to the upper back of the ejector plate 5 by means of a hurlzontal connecting arm 28a. The operating arm 28 extends diagonally and upwardly toward the top of the backing plate I2, where it is horizontal, and passes through an opening I2a in the said plate. The upper end of the operating arm 28 terminates in a transverse portion 28h, which serves the double purpose of contacting and moving an agitator arm 29 .extending downwardly from the back I9 of the pencil container i6, and the purposelof contacting and actuating the angular plate 2S to which the members 22 and 23 are attached. The movement of the hinged back I9 need be only slight since its only function is to prevent the pencils from becoming clogged in the container opening 20.

In operation, the actuating rod 'I is moved forward by the coin operated mechanism 9. Thus. the shoulder I4 in the ejector plate 5 moves the lowermost card I3 partially through the slot I5 in the iront 3 from where it may be taken by the purchaser. At the same time the operating arm 2E is moved forward to contact and actuate the pencil release 22 and the angular plats 26, causing a pencil in the slot 24 of the release 22 to move into the stop chamber I8 where it falls onto the angular plate 26. Upon release of the mechanism 9, the pencil falls into an inclined trough 3i). There is an opening 3l in the front 3 to accommodate the trough 30 and the width of a pencil whereby the latter may roll to the outer end of the said trough outside of the device. The trough 36 is secured to the front of the card container IU and lto the lower edge of the housing opening 3i.

Upon release of the plunger mechanism 9y the recoil springs 21 reposition the pencil release 22 which then receives another pencil in its slot 24. Similarly, the shoulder il of the ejector plate 5 is repositioned to accommodate the next lowermost card.

A slot 32 is provided in the housing l to receive the cards after they have been written upon.

What I claim is:

In a dispensing machine, a housing having a dispensing opening in the front wall thereof, a

horivontally slidable plate in the housing having an upwardly and forwardly directed arm, a pencil container having a hinged inclined rear wall and spaced at its lower end from the front wall of the container to provide a bottom opening, a horizontally slidable release member having an open top and bottom chamber normally underlying said container opening to receive a pencil, a fixed plate normally covering said open bottom, a downwardly inclined trough plate extending from said stationary plate to said dispensing owning; a downwardly and rearwardly extend ing plate secured to the said hinged rear wall of the container, said last named plate having an upwardly curved lower end, whereby when said iirst named plate is moved forwardly said upwardly extending arm rides under said lower curved end of the plate extending downwardly from said container rear wall to rock said rear wall to agitate the pencils in said container, said upwardly extending arm thereafter engaging said release member to move it forwardly so that said open bottom chamber travels past the forward edge of said stationary plate to drop a pencil onto said trough to roll out through said dispensing opening.

CARL E. LEBRECHT. 

